Seldom-Used Words

Status
Not open for further replies.
Even with clear skies, I have been experiencing connectivity issues and, therefore, the reason for my absence. I have been getting lots done outside, though, so it hasn't been too bad. Good to be back.

Here is a word that is used often in my group of friends, the very last definition only, though. The first definition was a real surprise to me;

paraphernalia - noun 1. the separate real or personal property of a married woman that she can dispose of by will and sometimes according to common law during her life 2. personal belongings 3. FURNISHINGS, APPARATUS
 
If I had been thinking clearly yesterday, I would have saved paraphernalia for today. Happy 420 everyone! Toke, Toke.

paraph - noun a flourish at the end of a signature sometimes meant to safeguard against forgery
 
I happen to be here due to posting on another thread of mine about one of my favorite subjects, and I am anxious to post this next word because it is such a peach;

paranymph - noun 1. a friend going with a bridegroom to fetch home the bride in ancient Greece; also: the bridesmaid conducting the bride to the bridegroom 2.a. BEST MAN b. BRIDESMAID
 
parbuckle(1) - noun 1. a purchase for hoisting or lowering a cylindrical object by making fast the middle of a long rope aloft and looping both ends around the object which rests in the loops and rolls in them as the end are hauled up or paid out 2. a double sling made of a single rope for slinging a cask or gun

Parbuckling was much used by the Royal Navy in days of sail, mainly for handling dismounted cannon, but also for moving stores and gunpowder in barrels. It was an essential part of the Admiralty's Manual of Seamanship.

It was also part of the syllabus for my Boy Scout Pioneer Badge. A well-made parbuckle could be used to safely move large cylindrical objects. A badly-made one would let the object slip out.

The term parbuckle is sometimes used for the straps on recovery vehicles, used to tie down a load.

The extreme example of the use of parbuckling by the Royal Navy was the installation of a battery at the summit of the Diamond Rock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Diamond_Rock
 
Last edited:
paraphernalia - noun 1. the separate real or personal property of a married woman that she can dispose of by will and sometimes according to common law during her life 2. personal belongings 3. FURNISHINGS, APPARATUS

Definition 1 was very important in Victorian England before the Married Women's Property Act. Everything except her paraphenalia, e.g. her clothing and immediate personal care effects such as her tooth and hair brushes, became her husband's property when she married. If the husband became bankrupt, the wife's paraphenalia was exempt from the husband's creditors' clutches.

What was considered her paraphenalia could vary according to her social status. A poor woman's paraphenalia might just be the clothes she was wearing. A rich woman's paraphenalia might include her jewellery but could be extended by legal agreement to almost anything - but if she died that paraphenalia would revert to her father, not her husband.
 
Og, what a fascinating piece of history prompted by the parbuckle, and provided by Wikipedia. I do love that site. Also, I had no idea that paraphernalia had any other meanings, and especially one so important to women. It is in the posting of seldom-used words or definitions of words that you offer additional information and make the word one that will last the test of time, a truly memorable experience. Thank you, again.

parang - noun (Malay) a short sword, cleaver, or machete common in Malaya, British Borneo, and Indonesia
 
Parbuckling was much used by the Royal Navy in days of sail, mainly for handling dismounted cannon, but also for moving stores and gunpowder in barrels. It was an essential part of the Admiralty's Manual of Seamanship.

The extreme example of the use of parbuckling by the Royal Navy was the installation of a battery at the summit of the Diamond Rock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Diamond_Rock

A fictional depiction of this can be found in "Ramage's Diamond" (by Dudley Pope). The mechanics of the process are well described.
The author takes pains to point out the historical facts.
 


pleonasm n., the use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense: redundancy.


Origin:
Late Latin pleonasmus, from Greek pleonasmos, from pleonazein to be excessive, from pleiōn, pleōn more — more at plus

First Known Use: 1610







It's a very good word to know. I've long been looking for a way to describe James Michener's books and, in the absence of a proper adjective, have been reduced to stating, "Where one word is sufficient, Michener uses fifteen" (pleonasm itself, as it turns out).

The prose styles of James Michener and Ernest Hemingway are polar opposites. One is sparse; the other is verbose and pleonastic.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleonasm

 
Parbuckling was much used by the Royal Navy in days of sail, mainly for handling dismounted cannon, but also for moving stores and gunpowder in barrels. It was an essential part of the Admiralty's Manual of Seamanship.

It was also part of the syllabus for my Boy Scout Pioneer Badge. A well-made parbuckle could be used to safely move large cylindrical objects. A badly-made one would let the object slip out.

The term parbuckle is sometimes used for the straps on recovery vehicles, used to tie down a load.

The extreme example of the use of parbuckling by the Royal Navy was the installation of a battery at the summit of the Diamond Rock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Diamond_Rock



I have sailed past Rocher Diamant many times. Each and every time I see it, I am dumbfounded by the idea that anyone could actually land on the damn thing much less bring cannon ashore.

I stare at it with my jaw on my chest and say, "Those people must have been fucking nuts."



 
Last edited:


I have sailed past Rocher Diamant many times. Each and every time I see it, I am dumbfounded by the idea that anyone could actually land on the damn thing much less bring cannon ashore.

I stare at it with my jaw on my chest.



Not just ashore, but some were mounted on the summit.
 
Not just ashore, but some were mounted on the summit.

And by manpower alone!

Cannon were notoriously pigheaded brutes. In those days, the phrase "loose cannon" must have been much more terrifying than we find it today. Think "hundreds of pounds of iron mounted on wheels, loose on a rolling, pitching deck".
 
Not just ashore, but some were mounted on the summit.

And by manpower alone!

Cannon were notoriously pigheaded brutes. In those days, the phrase "loose cannon" must have been much more terrifying than we find it today. Think "hundreds of pounds of iron mounted on wheels, loose on a rolling, pitching deck".



640px-Diamond_Rock.jpg

People who are not familiar with the sea will never understand
just how much motion there is in a body of water such as that
seen in this photograph. You may think this water is calm;
I promise you it's not. These are probably 1-2 foot seas in the
foreground. If you try to pull a gig or a jolly (salty names for
rowboats) up to this large rock, you will discover— the hard way—
just how difficult it is to land on something like this (essentially,
it is one big rock). Even as you approach it, there are rocks all
over the bottom and the last thing you want to do is smash
your boat on an underwater rock.

Diamond Rock (Rocher Diamant) is on the leeward side of the
island of Martinique (which is what makes an approach possible
in the first place). If it were on the windward side of the island,
it would be all but impossible to land as it would be constantly
pounded by 8-10' Atlantic Ocean rollers.

Incidentally, the southwest tip of Martinique can just be seen
in the distance on the horizon on the left hand side of this photo.

 
Very interesting, gentlemen, and a real testament to what men can do when they put their mind to it.

parament - noun an ornamental ecclesiastical hanging or vestment
 
Let's not forget our graminivorous cousins...

Paranthropus (from Greek "near human") A genus of extinct hominins also known as robust australopithecines. The genus includes three recognized fossil species.
 
Tio, I must admit, I probably would have missed that one. Thanks for including it.

paramatta - noun a fine lightweight dress fabric of silk and wool or cotton and wool
 
And by manpower alone!

Cannon were notoriously pigheaded brutes. In those days, the phrase "loose cannon" must have been much more terrifying than we find it today. Think "hundreds of pounds of iron mounted on wheels, loose on a rolling, pitching deck".

A 32lb canon, was nine feet long and weighed about three tons.
 
Last edited:
A good Tuesday to you all. Here is a word that fits right in on LIT;

paralogism - noun a fallacious argument contrary to logical rules
 
I intend to incorporate this word into the next sex scene I write;

paradisiacal - adj of, relating to, or resembling paradise
 
I have returned after several very busy days and here is a good one to start of with, again;

Paraclete - noun HOLY SPIRIT
 
Good day, everyone. I wonder if anyone here has ever heard this next word used in the way it is defined in the first place only?

papilla - noun 1. obs: the nipple of the breast 2. a small projecting body part similar to a nipple in form a. a vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth b. one of the vascualr protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles c. one of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue
 
Good day, everyone. I wonder if anyone here has ever heard this next word used in the way it is defined in the first place only?

papilla - noun 1. obs: the nipple of the breast 2. a small projecting body part similar to a nipple in form a. a vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth b. one of the vascualr protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles c. one of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue

Of course I've heard of it. Anne Boleyn had three papillae. That was why she was sometimes considered to be a witch. :rolleyes:

A papilla sited other than the two breast nipples, particularly if sited elsewhere on a woman's body, was supposed to be there to feed her witch's familiar demon in animal form e.g. her cat.
 
Last edited:
Og, of course, I have heard of Anne's three nipples and feeding her familiar and all, but not that they were called papillae. I suppose the word is used in current tales of witches, but I am not into that genre. Anyway, I learn something new from you all the time and appreciate it very much.

papilionaceous - adj 1. resembing a butterfly esp. in irregular shape 2. LEGUMINOUS
 
Og, of course, I have heard of Anne's three nipples and feeding her familiar and all, but not that they were called papillae. I suppose the word is used in current tales of witches, but I am not into that genre. Anyway, I learn something new from you all the time and appreciate it very much.

...

This short Wiki piece shows that a third nipple is fairly common.

A witch's mark is different and is invisible.

Papilla is the current medical term in the UK for a female's nipple.
 
Og, I have never heard anyone in the medical field call nipples by that name, even though I have them and they have been examined annually for decades. Not even my breast feeding friends or midwives used that term, therefore, the reason behind the unfamiliarity of the word for me, I am certain.

Paphian(1) - adj 1. of or relating to Paphos or its people 2. of or relating to illicit love: WANTON

Paphian(2) - noun 1. a native or inhabitant of Paphos 2. often not cap: PROSTITUTE
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top